Power of the Poker Chip
by Shastodi
Summary: Miles doesn't introduce Ariadne to Cobb. Instead, he brings someone who knows everything about dream-sharing, someone who can't face reality and hides in dreams from the past which she doesn't even fully remember. But will it change when a charming Forger will want to show her the real taste of life? Time waits for no one, but it will show all nasty secrets. Eames/OC,better inside!
1. Prologue

**~Prologue~**

She was lost. She knew it damn too well and she inwardly cursed at her stupidity. She was locked up in a basement for God knows how long and when a light of hope had showed when she managed to escape, it just as quickly disappeared when she realized she didn't know where to go.

She tried to look casual while wandering on the busy streets of Mombasa. God, she wasn't even hundred percent sure how she got here... But she was certain that if some stranger came up to her, considering her a potential victim, she will be ready to show how far he should be staying away from her, she would be ready any time to put up her fists in defence.

She had no idea how innocent she looked. She easily stood out from the crowd, simply because among all the black people, she seemed like one of the palest people in the whole globe. Her white skin had contrasted with long dark chocolate curls that couldn't be tamed by anything now, blown freely on the summer breeze, while her full pale lips quivered slightly. She was worryingly thin but not so big muscles here and there helped her look more like a human being. What made her stand out even more was her all-black outfit consisting of black jeans and leather jacket, while outside it was still irritatingly hot.

She knew she needed to think quick, her steel grey sad eyes full of pain and fear had said that she's not used to being prey, and that the situation needed to change immediately. Many people had passed her on the streets and looked at her, some out of curiosity, some out of concern, and when they were just _this_ close to asking "are you okay?", she simply ignored everyone. She promised herself not to drag anyone into this mess which was her life now.

She bumped into a loved-up couple on the street, apologizing absent-mindedly. They didn't mind, seeming a bit too preoccupied with themselves. She saw a well-built young man who stood out by wearing ridiculously orange Hawaiian shirt with an elegant jacket, hiding his eyes behind the shades of sunglasses, and a petite strawberry blonde beauty in cocktail dress which tugged on his arm every now and then. As she was passing them out, she heard the girl squeal.

"Eames, honey!" she exclaimed in a high-pitched voice, "I thought you said you don't live too far from the casino!"

She couldn't help but turn her head back. She found the young man taking his glasses off and looking at her while walking away. Something about his gaze made her feel uncomfortable. It was just as if he was trying to figure out _why_ she was walking the way she was, _why _was she wearing these clothes in such weather, _why _she looked as if she was just about to shatter to pieces yet she wore a composed face. She knew this kind of behaviour but she was too tired to be able to associate it with someone. She just let her gaze drop, leaving the young man behind her.

Just like the rest of the world.

She put up her hood up and tucked her hands in the pockets of her jacket, finding a pocket knife, credit card, passport... Basically everything to help her get out of here in one piece. An innocent smile spread across her face, steel grey eyes were full of dangerous sparkles as plan had formed in her head. She was a predator now.

Because time waits for no one. And this might as well be one of the stupid dreams which she trapped herself in.


	2. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER : Christopher Nolan owns Inception, I own Amelie and the storyline. Enjoy!**

* * *

**~In Plain Sight~**

Eyes wide open, head snapping up in panic, heartbeat increasing ten times in two seconds and hundreds of swear words flying through your mind.

Everything thanks to the _bloody _alarm clock.

Amélie decided to kill the device without even having second thoughts by throwing it out of the window, listening with pleasure how the unbearable monstrous noises had died away. She wasn't used to the sounds of the everyday life and as she let her gaze wander to the great panorama of Paris, she let out a big sigh.

She was back here after three years and memories not only of college life had flooded her, causing her head to spin. Of course it wasn't like she grew nostalgic and out of the blue she decided to come down. God no, she wasn't one of those girls. Yes, she could be still counted as a girl, who just celebrated her twenty second birthday. But what, or rather who, made her visit Paris was nobody else but Professor Miles. Good old man who deepened the love for Architecture in Amélie and whom she had to leave right after her first year of college. Her priority was to find a job and surely old Miles would know something, even though he'd be always denying that he doesn't want to be involved in dream-sharing, even though he was one of the greatest Extractors at some point. But some tags aren't easily torn away, and some habits never die.

Loud cracking of bones pulled her out of her pensive mood as Amélie was stretching in front of bathroom mirror. The girl in the reflection looked awful, as if she was just through a good few sleepless nights... And that's how it was. She couldn't get used to the idea of staying here for longer than week. Around the time of summer which was clearly visible now in Paris, she'd be usually travelling around South America, changing location every two days or so. She was paranoid, she knew it deep inside, but she made no effort of changing it. And so trying to push away negative thoughts, she washed her face with water while cursing at herself in every language she knew - typical her in the morning.

* * *

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

The question hung in the air dangerously, and was shortly followed by a sigh, quiet enough not to be heard in the crowd of students.

"Miles, I wouldn't be doing it if I knew there was a different way, "said Cobb, looking around as if even here he was expecting Cobol's people to jump up at him any time. Professor Miles saw his suspicious face and how he was walking carefully, all he could do was nod with understanding. Nobody knew how is it to be running away from their family for their safety, as much as Andrew Miles did. He was about to get into this moment of recalling memories of when he used to go under but his son-in-law's voice pulled him out of this mood, "Is she any good?"

The old man didn't answer, just nodded slightly. To say that Ariadne Smiths was a good architect was an understatement. She was one of the most talented students he had in good few years. She could be just as good as Cobb if she worked hard. Yet he felt bad pulling her into this mess, afraid that she'll loose her mind designing buildings impossible to build in reality. And she was so innocent, so unaware of what's going on around her. Cobb's team needed someone experienced, someone who could look after themselves and not loose themselves in dream... And just as Miles thought about this lovely French girl, he saw Ariadne walk up the stairs. He was going to call her but he was swiftly interrupted.

"Professeur!" a think French accent echoed on the corridor and both men had turned around. There she was, a petite woman who once was a shy girl, who would never think to wear an elegant suit and high heels which she was wearing now. Yet she still send him the same half-smile, making the old man's features soften. He noticed Cobb's confused face and as she approached them with a big bottle of white wine, he gave the girl a small hug which she returned.

"Dominic, I would like you to meet Amélie Butler", he said proudly, and Dominic Cobb couldn't be just any more confused as he was now.

And so it happened that the two ended up sitting in a cosy café in the suburbs of Paris. Amélie didn't want to hear the details of the job just yet, and so in the beginning she questioned the Extractor about his family. From the very first minute Dominic Cobb seemed to her like a good person who just wanted to go back to his kids, this was partially why she was innerly fighting herself. She wanted to help a man to rejoin his family in happiness because this kind of scenario wasn't possible for her anymore. But she was a big enough coward to back out of this, knowing the consequences if the job doesn't work out as planned. _What's wrong with you, imbecile? _she thought to herself, _you've worked so many jobs over the past years, you shouldn't be such a chicken! Yes, mother wouldn't approve, but as long as she doesn't know, you're safe. _Thanks to the thought of Vivienne and the sharp steel grey eyes which Amélie had gotten from her, guilt spread through the girl's body, paralyzing her senses for a second. She would have to pay her a visit soon again.

"I would like you to listen me out before you start saying how ridiculously impossible Inception is", the Extractor's voice had pulled her out of thoughts and her head snapped up from over a cup of coffee.

"Oh no, dear God. It is perfectly possible", she said quickly, looking as the middle-aged man relaxed in his chair a little bit, and then she added in a whisper," I've done it myself".

Did he see her shiver slightly at the memory? And did she see glint of understanding in his eyes? Probably not. Yet he still didn't linger on this topic and she was grateful for it. Amélie rested her chin on one of her small fists. There can be no place for errors or hesitancy, she knew it best.

She let a sigh escape her mouth as she looked at Cobb, defeat clearly seen in her eyes.

"Show me the files" she said pulling out her hand as she watched with pleasure a triumph painting on the Extractor's face who just tried to stay as composed as possible but didn't succeed. Now he was certain he was just steps away from his kids.

* * *

Eames found himself staring at the woman for the first time in ages. And it wasn't just because she had the most innocent looking face and those seductive pale lips. He could look at her as much as he wanted because she was in deep sleep, connected to PASIV with Cobb. He, on the contrary, was twitching every now and then and the Brit didn't know what to make of it, he never saw such reactions. He was tempted to go under but a slam of door to the warehouse made him change his mind. It was Arthur, this stick-in-the-mud who always had follow Cobb like a puppy... Yet Eames had to admit the Point Man in his elegant three-piece suit was far from this description and he always will be. Arthur walked up to him and lifted his nose from the papers he was looking through.

"Any changes?" he asked indifferently and Eames was close to rolling his eyes at him, but he only shook his head. He was wrecked after the travel from Mombasa which took exactly a hundred and seventy two hours. Plus to that, he had no sleep since he came here, Cobb called him in straight away, which Eames wasn't really happy about, but sure cursing at him won't do much good. And now that he thought about it, this girl might as well compensate his efforts of getting here. God, he even let a quiet chuckle escape his mouth at the thought of this night.

And then, Dominic Cobb jumped up in his seat with eyes wide open, gasping for air as if he was choked. Arthur was beside him a split second after that, giving him some water to drink. The Extractor just looked at the girl who was still in her sleep and then at the PASIV. 10 seconds left.  
He looked at the two men with serious face.

"We really need to talk." he said.

* * *

**Well, I found this chapter a bit hectic XD but it had to be written! Reviews are loved!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Only 2 chapters and so many views, favourites and alerts? Guys, you're too good for me!**

**Hecate-Luna - I'm glad I made someone happy :D I totally agree with you, I'm not really into that Eames/Arthur pairing so decided to give a man what he needs. Hope you like the story!**

**DISCLAIMER : Amazing Christopher Nolan owns Inception, I own Amélie and the storyline. Enjoy!**

* * *

_The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense._

_- Tom Clancy_

**_~ Opposites attract... Right?~_**

"So what happened?"

The question asked by the Point Man lingered in bathroom, echoing off the walls as he watched Dominick Cobb wash his face thoroughly with cold water. Arthur knew Cobb saw Mal. Again. He always reacted so... roughly, to put it mild. Cobb looked at Arthur through the mirror, his blue eyes shining.

"I have to say, she's amazing." he started off quietly, "she's better than me, no doubt. And it's not just because she plays with the physical laws, she designs everything with such _ease. _Just as if she was living in those dreams and she was just visiting us in reality here. We were on the concrete pavements of big city and seconds later she just changed her mind and we ended up in some tropical jungle."

Arthur raised his eyebrows. That wasn't something he was expecting him to say straight away.

"But something went wrong, didn't it?" asked Arthur carefully, watching Cobb sigh heavily.

"Mal showed up out of nowhere," he said rubbing his tired face. He dropped a spinning top, watching it intensely until few seconds later it had toppled over to one side. He looked back at Arthur, " that girl seemed to be expecting her because they immediately got into some chat, I barely understood them in French so I told Amélie to stop questioning my subconscious. And then just both of them pulled out guns at the same time, Amélie being faster shot me."

"Maybe she could help you... you know, control Mal?" Arthur asked, hoping Cobb won't react too bad. Thankfully, he just let out another sigh.

"I don't know. All I'm certain about is that we need her."

* * *

Her steel grey eyes snapped open as soon as realised she wasn't in a dream anymore. The vivid images that she'd seen while under were so real and so beautiful that when she saw the dull colours of the warehouse, she felt like screaming and crying. Instead, Amélie stood up, maybe too fast, carelessly pulling out an IV out of her arm. The room had spun around as if she was prancing and before she could react, pair of strong arms had wrapped around her waist to stop her from falling.

"What the... " she muttered as she rubbed her tired face. She had a mini heart attack when she discovered light green eyes, just inches away from her face, watching her intensely.

"Hello darling" a happy baritone thickened with British accent echoed in her ears as she felt that the strong arms are not losing their grip on her " did you sleep well?"

Her response was cursing under her breath in French, this only made the man chuckle quietly. Damn, he was handsome... or was he? Amélie wasn't sure, busy dumbly staring at the man who was surprisingly _expecting_ this kind of behaviour from her. She smelled strong aftershave off him even though a light stubble was visible on his face. He was wearing a dark red Hawaiian shirt which looked ridiculous with elegant jacket and trousers. Amélie had a funny feeling she had seen him before but she couldn't focus on that thought now. She had to admit he had the most intriguing eyes, green with a grey mist on them still looked lively as sparkles danced in them. If it was true that one's personality could be seen in one's eyes, well then Amélie wanted to find out more about this Brit. Suddenly she found her thinking ridiculous. She was never into men, always keeping herself away from them unless it was a pure business matter. So why the change? Only now she had realised that she hid a gun behind the belt on her back and wondered whether he felt it or not.

And so with that thought, trying to ignore the man's playful smile, Amélie pulled away from him. Just in time because Cobb and his friend, Arthur walked in, silence accompanying them. Amélie sat back on the old lounge chair, trying to ignore the man's presence.

"I see you've met our Forger, Eames. Eames, this is our new Architect, Amélie" said Cobb while handing back some papers to the Point Man who she had an opportunity to meet earlier on. At the sound of the man's name she looked up and saw him winking, all she could do was roll her eyes at him.

"I believe we _did_ meet before, yet it is still a pleasure to know your name, Amélie." the Forger said grinning, took her hand in his and planted a kiss on it. Arthur and Cobb raised their eyebrows but said nothing. So this was probably the Brit's usual behaviour. How... charming.

"We did?" she asked dumbly, still trying her best not to laugh at the Forger's frivolity. She thought he needed good few slaps on his face to make him wake up and realise she ain't easy. Eames was just about to say something but a forced cough came out of the Point Man's mouth, and she was grateful for it.

"Do you mind me asking how come there is no evidence you were ever born?" Cobb asked out of the blue and the warehouse went silent for few awkward seconds so he continued, "we could find nothing about you, and you probably know best that we need to be aware of most of the... aspects of your life."

Amélie saw Eames with the corner of her eye, watching her carefully. She sighed and got up, heading towards her bag. Few seconds of rustling of keys and paper later she handed a thick file to surprised Point Man.

"Next time if you have problem finding some information, give me a shout" she said and sent him an apologetic smile. As she watched him flick through papers, disbelief started to show up on his face. Arthur seemed like a man who always accomplished his tasks and never took failure into account, he must have felt horrible and tried to cover it up but without success, Amélie felt guilty. She pretended she didn't see when Arthur pointed at something on the paper to Cobb and how they both looked up at her, as if thinking could _she_ do _that, _whatever it was that they read about her. Eames decided to have a peak in too and so now Amélie knew she was close from being interrogated by them three hovering over her.

" Have you done all those extractions yourself?" asked Cobb not looking up from the papers.

"Oui, I have been working on my own for past four years." she said brushing invisible dust off her pants, pretending not to see the looks men gave each other.

"And how long have you been dream-sharing now?" now Arthur asked the question. Amélie had to stop and think for a second.

"Ah, I think I first went under when I was eight." she said and when she saw them all drop their jaws, she raised her hands in defence "it was just for fun back then."

And it was. The thought itself that five minutes in reality turned into an hour in dream was found fascinating by petite Amélie and her twin brother Jonathan. Everyone knows how endless can be child's imagination, and thanks to it the siblings spend countless hours on adventures of which memories still linger in Amélie's head.

"God, when I was eight I was only thinking about my toys and pulling girls' hair." said Eames and chuckled under his breath.

"Now I see that not much has changed." she shot back at him, hoping he didn't take her mischievous tone as an invitation. Unfortunately, he raised his eyebrows and she thought he couldn't look any more seductive. _God, what are you thinking about? _she thought, giving herself a mental slap on the face.

"As opposed to you, darling. And from what I know, opposites attract." he said, grinning.

"Mister Eames, I never recalled granting you permission to call me _darling._" she said not returning the grin, yet sparkles in her eyes said she's highly amused. Gee, what got into her?

"But you have to admit, love, it sounds far better than 'Miss Butler'. It reminds me of an old granny from the neighbourhood who never got married and chased kids off her lawn with a broom."

"The diversity of your encounters with women, Mister Eames, is shocking." she said, coughing back laughter. She hadn't enjoyed a conversation with a man as much as she did now in a long time. A stranger would think they've known each other for years and that they enjoy each other's company. And surprisingly she did but then she realised he's just another ladies' man, plural, so she might as well watch herself around him.

"I would love to listen to you more, believe me," interrupted Cobb before the Forger started flirting with her in front of them, amusement painting on his tired face, " but we need to get down to business. Amélie, you in?"

She could feel the Brit's gaze glued to her, somehow she didn't feel bad with it.

"You know you're all messed up in the head, you too," she said pointing with her chin at the surprised Point Man and then sighed," so am I but that's probably just the side effects of what I do. Hell, we might as well try, what's the harm?"

She knew very well what was the harm, consequence of any kind of error. But this time she wasn't alone, she won't let the pessimistic thoughts get her.

She finally got a chance to pay for her sins. And she wasn't going to waste that chance.

Beside, that Forger few steps away from her seemed to be good at keeping her attention away from problems. So she might as well make good use of it.

* * *

**I promise, action starts next chapter. **

**Reviews, any forms of constructive criticism are always appreciated and loved!  
**

**~ S.  
**


End file.
